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I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

It seems these days that I am sick for two weeks every month. Now, I am not a hypochondriac, and I have never considered myself to be sickly. I try to keep very active, spend a great deal of time outdoors, working with my plants, walk to the grocery and the mercados, eat fresh vegetables, fruits, fish and chicken. Then WHY am I now always sick and tired and no energy or any drive to do anything?

It has seemed to me that both Joe and I have been sick more than well while living in Playas these past 8 months. I kept telling myself it was in my head, it could not be because of the dust in the air or the many months that we had so much rain that our yard was flooded. After a wonderful few weeks up the coast, I am again under the weather, I attempted to doctor myself but when speaking to my friend Roger yesterday morning he suggested we go see his local doctor. I got there and within 10 minutes I was seated in front of Dr. Gregorio Andrade Yagual at his clinic located near the park and church in Playas. He is a young, very profession man with excellent care skills. Roger acted as my interpreter although Dr. Andrade spoke enough English that we could have handled it ourselves.

The bottom line is I have an infection in my throat caused by a sinus infection. The constant dripping down the back of my throat has caused me to cough for the past three nights keeping both Joe and I awake most of the night. When I asked him why I have had so many issues with being sick over the past 8 months he informed me that the folks here are raised with the dust, the dry air and the on and off again rains. When folks from outside of Ecuador come here, because we have not been raised with these conditions, some of us become sick.

After taking the prescribed medications for just one day, I feel almost myself again. I am coming to the conclusion that the arid southernmost coast of Ecuador is not for us.

Hi Nancy, it’s likely the dry air is causing your sinus infection. It happened to me before but it was not the antibiotics that permanently cured me but the humidifier the doctor asked me to buy. You can set it up to automatically turn on if the humidity falls below 50 or whatever setting you like.

First let me say, I enjoy your blog and appreciate your honesty about your exerperiences – especially the southern most part of Ecuador. As someone who starting the exploratory process of relocating to coastal Ecuador, this is helpful.

Sorry to hear that you have been sick. I am anxious to hear what you think of the north coast. I love your blog as it makes me feel like I am there. Take of yourself and keep up the good work. Maryanne

Hi Gary, I can’t really say because we lived on the 10th floor of a condo with the water at the front and Mar Bravo water at the back, it seemed to me that it was always windy there because of that. In Playas we live in a single family home one block from the beach with no Mar Bravo behind us, here it seems hotter to me. Nancy

Hi Nancy, My husband and I are arriving in Salinas for 5 weeks on May 31. We will are looking at moving to Ecuador very soon. We will be staying on the Malecon boardwalk. We would appreciate any tips you could share.

Glad you are feeling better. I think because we have good health education in the west we do sometimes put off the inevitable visit to see a Dr. The cost and language barrier usually send me to an English speaking pharmacist first…….we are lucky we can buy most mess over the counter here without a prescription. Glad you are feeling better.